If a supplier cannot answer these in writing, that is the answer.
Panelized construction is a good idea sold by companies of wildly varying quality. These are the questions we would ask if we were buying, and we would want the answers in writing rather than on a call.
On the product
1. What is the effective whole-wall R-value, and who tested it? Nominal cavity values are marketing. Ask for the report. Ours is an Intertek thermal performance assessment.
2. Is the framing thermally broken? If steel runs continuously from inside to outside, the wall does not perform the way the brochure says.
3. What happens to the assembly if it gets wet during construction? Ask specifically about delamination and rot.
4. What are the fire ratings, and for which assemblies? A rating belongs to a tested build-up, not to a product family.
On the engineering
5. Are the load tables signed and sealed, and by whom? Ours are by BEI Engineering, covering construction types II–V.
6. Is there a connection detail library, and can my drafter have it in CAD? Over 200 details, PDF and AutoCAD, in our case.
7. What are the manufacturing tolerances, and against what standard? Ours are documented against HUD requirements.
On the process
8. Who draws the shop drawings, and how long do they take? Ask whether their drafters talk to your engineer directly.
9. When do I get drawings relative to delivery? Weeks before is right; the same week is not.
10. How are panels labelled and bundled? Numbered to the drawing and bundled in wall-line order, or you will spend the first day sorting.
On what happens after
11. What is the warranty, and how long are manufacturing records kept? Ten years on material and twenty-five years of records, for us — which is what lets a panel be matched a decade later.
12. Can I speak to someone who has built with this? Any supplier worth using can produce a builder who will take the call.
The meta-question
Notice which answers arrive as documents and which arrive as adjectives. Everything above is published on our resources page without a form to fill in, and we would be suspicious of any supplier for whom that is not true.
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Get a price on your project.
A panel take-off and a delivered price, at no cost — and an honest comparison against building it the usual way.